This article places in historical context the three operas written by Alan Ridout for the choir of Canterbury Cathedral during the 1960s. Analysis of these works and their gestation is presented as a microcosm representing wider developments in music education since then. The analysis weaves together personal recollections, authenticated through…

Through micro-genetic analysis of early singing, I describe and explain the complexity of song as an elementary cultural expression. For educators, it is important to understand the key role of song with and by young children as a means to convey feelings and musico-linguistic rules. Song consists of melody and lyrics, both of which are connected…

The present study aimed to increase understanding of how singing activities may be initiated in primary school, and what support and assistance teachers require to conduct singing activities as an integrated part of the school day. Five music teachers participated in a focus group interview. The following main themes were identified: 1)…

Despite a global interest in the musical experiences of young children, the everyday musical lives of young New Zealanders remain unexamined. Using data collected through the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study, we explore the early musical experiences of approximately 6,800 infants and toddlers. Data collected from the primary caregivers…

The Babysong Project arose out of the Baby Room Project and its aims included supporting baby room practitioners to develop 'communicative musicality' (Malloch & Trevarthen 2009), extending research knowledge about baby room practices and helping practitioners to explore opportunities to question and adapt their own ways of working with babies…

Teaching traditional art forms in schools and the community has proven an effective way of ensuring the transmission of traditional culture. But due to the lack of valid and normative assessment guidance, the assessments of Cantonese operatic singing are still developing, impairing the instructiveness in its teaching and learning and restraining…

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to determine the importance of listening to music in relation to other music activities in teaching music in Croatian primary schools, and whether teachers' listening habits affect how much listening activity is used in music lessons. The results showed that in the teaching of music at the…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of the Curriculum Design Coherence Model (CDC Model -- Rata, 2019) on the design practice of two music teachers in a middle school music class in New Zealand. The CDC Model proposes that deep learning first requires deep design coherence. This coherence is generated by three interrelated design…

Approximately 10% of students have singing difficulties appearing as poor pitch singing. During the period 2012 to 2014, I assessed 2390 recordings from 239 students. 25 students were graded below C, and thus were defined as poor pitch singers (PPS). However, these students showed varying patterns of mastery within their own portfolios of…

The purpose of this service-learning action research study was to develop and investigate after-school individualised vocal lessons for secondary students aged 14-18 years (n = 15) taught by preservice music educators (PMEs) (n = 12) in the United States. In service learning, all parties should benefit from the experience while addressing…

While mastery of aspects of music theory is relevant to rapid learning and understanding of a new choral part, many choirs comprise members with no formal education in music theory. Also, the language of music theory is not intuitive, with many terms having meanings different from those in common use, which can present obstacles for mature…

Within a rapidly changing higher education landscape, there is an increased need for universities to look beyond their 'ivory towers' and into their surrounding communities in preparing students for the 'real world'. Findings from an Irish case study explore a children's choral university-community initiative within an urban area of socio-economic…

This is an analysis of how specialist music teachers sing and teach how to sing, based on data collected from six case studies carried out in Spanish primary schools. The study aimed at understanding classroom singing practices, and in particular the provision or absence of vocal instruction in relation with teachers' singing models. The findings…

This paper reports on the findings related to the possible selves of males who participate in choir. It focuses on the perceptions of participants' past, present and future identities and the way these interact to influence decisions about choir. The paper is derived from a larger study, set in Australia, which investigated the perceptions of…

This study compared primary student preference for competitive and non-competitive singing games. Students in three intact classes of second graders (n = 65) and three classes of fourth graders (n = 67) at one school in the USA served as subjects. After playing a pair of games, one competitive and one non-competitive, over the course of five…